Work plan:

Introduction.

The structure of human nature.

Biological and social in man.

The role of biological and geographical factors in the formation of social life.

Social life.

Historical types of social life.

Social connections, actions and interactions as a basic element of social life.

Motivation for social action: needs, interests, value orientations.

Social development and social change.

Social ideal as a condition for social development.

Conclusion.

Introduction.

There is nothing more interesting in the world than the person himself.

V. A. Sukhomlinsky

Man is a social being. But at the same time, the highest mammal, i.e. biological being.

Like any biological species, Homo sapiens is characterized by a certain set of species characteristics. Each of these characteristics can vary among different representatives, and even within wide limits. The manifestation of many biological parameters of a species can also be influenced by social processes. For example, the normal life expectancy of a person is currently 80-90 years, given that he does not suffer from hereditary diseases and will not be exposed to harmful external influences, such as infectious diseases, road accidents, etc. This is a biological constant of the species, which, however, changes under the influence of social laws.

Like other biological species, man has stable varieties, which are designated, when it comes to man, by the concept of “race”. Racial differentiation of people is associated with the adaptation of various groups of people inhabiting different regions of the planet, and is expressed in the formation of specific biological, anatomical and physiological characteristics. But, despite the differences in certain biological parameters, a representative of any race belongs to a single species, Homo sapiens, and has biological parameters characteristic of all people.

Each person is individual and unique by nature, each has his own set of genes inherited from his parents. The uniqueness of a person is also enhanced as a result of the influence of social and biological factors in the process of development, because each individual has a unique life experience. Consequently, the human race is infinitely diverse, human abilities and talents are infinitely diverse.

Individualization is a general biological pattern. Individual natural differences in humans are supplemented by social differences, determined by the social division of labor and differentiation of social functions, and at a certain stage of social development - also by individual personal differences.

Man is included in two worlds at once: the world of nature and the world of society, which gives rise to a number of problems. Let's look at two of them.

Aristotle called man a political animal, recognizing in him a combination of two principles: biological (animal) and political (social). The first problem is which of these principles is dominant, determining in the formation of a person’s abilities, feelings, behavior, actions and how the relationship between the biological and the social in a person is realized.

The essence of another problem is this: recognizing that each person is unique, original and inimitable, we, nevertheless, constantly group people according to various characteristics, some of which are determined biologically, others - socially, and some - by the interaction of the biological and the social. The question arises, what significance do biologically determined differences between people and groups of people have in the life of society?

In the course of discussions around these problems, theoretical concepts are put forward, criticized and rethought, and new lines of practical action are developed that help improve relationships between people.

K. Marx wrote: “Man is directly a natural being. As a natural being... he... is endowed with natural powers, vital forces, being an active natural being; these forces exist in him in the form of inclinations and abilities, in the form of drives...” This approach found justification and development in the works of Engels, who understood the biological nature of man as something initial, although not sufficient to explain history and man himself.

Marxist-Leninist philosophy shows the importance of social factors along with biological ones - both play qualitatively different roles in determining human essence and nature. It reveals the dominant meaning of the social without ignoring the biological nature of man.

Disregard for human biology is unacceptable. Moreover, the biological organization of a human being is something valuable in itself, and no social goals can justify either violence against it or eugenic projects for its alteration.

Among the great diversity of the world of living beings living on planet Earth, only one person has a highly developed mind, largely thanks to which he, in fact, was able to survive and survive as a biological species.

Even prehistoric people, at the level of their mythological worldview, knew that the cause of all this was something that was located in man himself. They called this “something” the soul. Plato made the greatest scientific discovery. He established that the human soul consists of three parts: reason, feelings and will. The entire spiritual world of a person is born precisely from his mind, his feelings and his will. Despite the innumerable diversity of the spiritual world, its inexhaustibility, there is, in fact, nothing else in it except the manifestations of intellectual, emotional and volitional elements.

The structure of human nature.

In the structure of human nature one can find three components: biological nature, social nature and spiritual nature.

The biological nature of humans was formed over a long, 2.5 billion years, evolutionary development from blue-green algae to Homo Sapiens. In 1924, English professor Leakey discovered in Ethiopia the remains of an Australopithecus, which lived 3.3 million years ago. From this distant ancestor descend modern hominids: apes and humans.

The ascending line of human evolution went through the following stages: Australopithecus (fossil southern monkey, 3.3 million years ago) - Pithecanthropus (ape-man, 1 million years ago) - Sinanthropus (fossil "Chinese man", 500 thousand years ago) - Neanderthal (100 thousand years ) - Cro-Magnon (Homo Sapiens fossil, 40 thousand years ago) - modern man (20 thousand years ago). It should be taken into account that our biological ancestors did not appear one after another, but stood out for a long time and lived together with their predecessors. Thus, it has been reliably established that the Cro-Magnon lived together with the Neanderthal and even... hunted him. The Cro-Magnon man, therefore, was a kind of cannibal - he ate his closest relative, his ancestor.

In terms of biological adaptation to nature, humans are significantly inferior to the vast majority of representatives of the animal world. If a person is returned to the animal world, he will suffer a catastrophic defeat in the competitive struggle for existence and will be able to live only in a narrow geographical zone of his origin - in the tropics, on both sides close to the equator. A person does not have warm fur, he has weak teeth, weak nails instead of claws, an unstable vertical gait on two legs, a predisposition to many diseases, a degraded immune system...

Superiority over animals is biologically ensured to humans only by the presence of a cerebral cortex, which no animal has. The cerebral cortex consists of 14 billion neurons, the functioning of which serves as the material basis for a person’s spiritual life - his consciousness, ability to work and to live in society. The cerebral cortex abundantly provides scope for endless spiritual growth and development of man and society. Suffice it to say that today, over the course of a person’s entire long life, at best, only 1 billion - only 7% - of neurons are activated, and the remaining 13 billion - 93% - remain unused “gray matter”.

General health and longevity are genetically determined in human biological nature; temperament, which is one of four possible types: choleric, sanguine, melancholic and phlegmatic; talents and inclinations. It should be taken into account that each person is not a biologically repeated organism, the structure of its cells and DNA molecules (genes). It is estimated that 95 billion of us people have been born and died on Earth over 40 thousand years, among whom there was not at least one identical person.

Biological nature is the only real basis on which a person is born and exists. Each individual, each person exists from that time until his biological nature exists and lives. But with all his biological nature, man belongs to the animal world. And man is born only as the animal species Homo Sapiens; is not born as a human being, but only as a candidate for a human being. The newborn biological creature Homo Sapiens has yet to become a human being in the full sense of the word.

Let's begin the description of the social nature of man with the definition of society. Society is a union of people for the joint production, distribution and consumption of material and spiritual goods; for the reproduction of one’s species and one’s way of life. Such a union is carried out, as in the animal world, to maintain (in the interests of) the individual existence of the individual and for the reproduction of Homo Sapiens as a biological species. But unlike animals, the behavior of a person - as a being who is characterized by consciousness and the ability to work - in a group of his own kind is governed not by instincts, but by public opinion. In the process of assimilating the elements of social life, a candidate for a person turns into a real person. The process of a newborn acquiring elements of social life is called human socialization.

BASICS OF SOCIAL LIFE

The study of human societies begins with the study of the basic conditions that determine their functioning, their "life." The concept of “social life” is used to denote a complex of phenomena that arise during the interaction of humans and social communities, as well as the joint use of natural resources necessary to satisfy needs. The biological, geographical, demographic and economic foundations of social life differ.

When analyzing the foundations of social life, one should analyze the peculiarities of human biology as a social subject, creating the biological possibilities of human labor, communication, and mastering the social experience accumulated by previous generations. These include such an anatomical feature of a person as an upright gait.

It allows you to better see your surroundings and use your hands in the process of work.

An important role in social activity is played by such a human organ as the hand with the opposable thumb. Human hands can perform complex operations and functions, and the person himself can participate in a variety of work activities. This should also include looking forward and not to the sides, allowing you to see in three directions, the complex mechanism of the vocal cords, larynx and lips, which contributes to the development of speech. The human brain and complex nervous system provide the opportunity for high development of the individual’s psyche and intelligence. The brain serves as a biological prerequisite for reflecting the entire wealth of spiritual and material culture and its further development. By adulthood, the human brain increases 5-6 times compared to the brain of a newborn (from 300 g to 1.6 kg). The inferior parietal, temporal and frontal areas of the cerebral cortex are associated with human speech and labor activity, with abstract thinking, which ensures specifically human activity.

The specific biological properties of humans include the long-term dependence of children on their parents, the slow stage of growth and puberty. Social experience and intellectual achievements are not fixed in the genetic apparatus. This requires the extragenetic transmission of moral values, ideals, knowledge and skills accumulated by previous generations of people.

In this process, the direct social interaction of people, “living experience,” acquires enormous importance. It has not lost its significance in our time, despite the colossal achievements in the field of “materialization of the memory of mankind, primarily in writing, and recently in computer science.” memory." On this occasion, the French psychologist A. Pieron noted that if our planet were to suffer a catastrophe, as a result of which the entire adult population would die and only small children would survive, then, although the human race would not cease to exist, cultural history humanity would be thrown back to its origins.There would be no one to set culture in motion, to introduce new generations of people to it, to reveal to them the secrets of its reproduction.

When affirming the enormous importance of the biological basis of human activity, one should not absolutize some stable differences in the characteristics of organisms, which are the basis for the division of humanity into races, and supposedly predetermine the social roles and statuses of individuals. Representatives of anthropological schools, based on racial differences, tried to justify the division of people into higher, leading races, and lower ones, called to serve the first. They argued that people's social status corresponds to their biological qualities and that it is the result of natural selection among biologically unequal people. These views have been refuted by empirical research. People of different races, brought up in the same cultural conditions, develop the same views, aspirations, ways of thinking and acting. It is important to note that education alone cannot arbitrarily shape the person being educated. Innate talent (for example, musical) has an important impact on social life.

Let us analyze various aspects of the influence of the geographical environment on human life as a subject of social life. It should be noted that there is a certain minimum of natural and geographical conditions that are necessary for successful human development. Beyond this minimum, social life is not possible or has a certain character, as if frozen at some stage of its development.

The nature of occupations, type of economic activity, objects and means of labor, food, etc. - all this significantly depends on human habitation in a particular zone (in the polar zone, in the steppe or in the subtropics).

Researchers note the influence of climate on human performance. A hot climate reduces the time of active activity. Cold climates require people to make great efforts to maintain life.

Temperate climates are most conducive to activity. Factors such as atmospheric pressure, air humidity, and winds are important factors that affect human health, which is an important factor in social life.

Soils play a major role in the functioning of social life. Their fertility, combined with a favorable climate, creates conditions for the progress of the people living on them. This affects the pace of development of the economy and society as a whole. Poor soils hinder the achievement of a high standard of living and require significant human effort.

The terrain is no less important in social life. The presence of mountains, deserts, and rivers can become a natural defensive system for a particular people. J. Szczepanski, a famous Polish sociologist, believed that “democratic systems developed in countries with natural borders (Switzerland, Iceland), and that in countries with open borders susceptible to raids, a strong, absolutist power arose in the early stages.”

At the stage of the initial development of a particular people, the geographical environment left its specific imprint on its culture, both in its economic, political, and spiritual-aesthetic aspects. This is indirectly expressed in certain specific habits, customs, and rituals, in which the features of the people’s way of life associated with their living conditions are manifested. The peoples of the tropics, for example, are unfamiliar with many customs and rituals characteristic of the peoples of the temperate zone and associated with seasonal work cycles. In Rus', there has long been a cycle of ritual holidays: spring, summer, autumn, winter.

The geographical environment is also reflected in the self-awareness of peoples in the form of the idea of ​​​​the “native land”. Some of its elements are either in the form of visual images (birch for the Russians, poplar for the Ukrainians, oak for the British, laurel for the Spaniards, sakura for the Japanese, etc.), or in combination with toponymy (the Volga rivers for the Russians, the Dnieper for the Ukrainians, Mount Furzi among the Japanese, etc.) become a kind of symbols of nationality. The influence of the geographical environment on the self-awareness of peoples is also evidenced by the names of the peoples themselves. For example, the coastal Chukchi call themselves “an kalyn” - “sea inhabitants”, and one of the groups of Selkups, another small northern people - “leinkum”, i.e. "taiga people"

Thus, geographical factors played a significant role in the formation of culture in the initial stages of the development of a particular people. Subsequently, reflected in culture, they can be reproduced by the people regardless of the original habitat (for example, the construction of wooden huts by Russian settlers in the treeless steppes of Kazakhstan).

Based on the above, it should be noted that when considering the role of the geographical environment, “geographical nihilism”, a complete denial of its impact on the functioning of society, is unacceptable. On the other hand, one cannot share the point of view of representatives of “geographical determinism”, who see an unambiguous and unidirectional relationship between the geographic environment and the processes of social life, when the development of society is completely determined by geographical factors. Taking into account the creative potential of the individual, the development of science and technology on this basis, and cultural exchange between peoples create a certain independence of man from the geographical environment. However, human social activity must fit harmoniously into the natural geographic environment. It should not violate its basic eco-connections.

The functioning of social life is greatly influenced by demographic processes that affect the entire population as a whole. Important demographic categories are birth rate, natural increase, increasing population density, the percentage of people of a certain age in the population (number of children, youth or old people), which are different for different societies.

In modern conditions, the lowest birth rate is in the countries of Southern Europe (from 1.3 to 1.5 births per woman of reproductive age), and the highest in the African countries of Rwanda, Malawi and Cote d'Ivoire (from 8.5 to 7 ,4).In Russia, the population in 1994 amounted to almost 149 million people, having decreased by 300 thousand people in 1993. A decrease in the population is noted in 49 regions of the country (in 1992 - 41 times, in 1991 - 41 times). - 33 times).The number of births during the year decreased by 13% during the year, while the number of deaths was 18% more.

Life expectancy in Japan is higher than in the rest of the world. For Japanese women it is 83 years, and for men it is 76.3 years. Over the past 11 years in a row, Japan has consistently held the lead in this indicator. During this period of time, Switzerland, France, and Sweden also made it into the top three centenarians more often than others.

Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan are among the three countries with the highest infant mortality rates (30.2 and 26.7 per 1000 births), second only to the southern regions of Brazil (32.5). The situation is completely different in Japan (4.5), Finland ( 5.2), Singapore (5.4).

The above demographic characteristics influence economic and social processes (the development of production, living standards, labor supply and employment structure, cause migration, etc.). Population density has a dual impact on social life. Population density causes competition and promotes more frequent contacts between individuals and groups. It thereby favors the rapid spread of ideas, increases the intensity of invention, and is thus a factor in cultural development. At the same time, excessive population growth is the cause of backward economic development, impedes the growth of living standards, is the cause of hunger, and a source of social unrest. Rapid population growth is creating a problem for the entire globe.

Demographic processes are an important factor in social life, which together with others determine the functioning of society.

It should be noted that the biological characteristics of the organism and the processes occurring in it, geographical conditions and demographic processes constitute the necessary basis of social life, but do not unambiguously determine its processes. People with the same genetic inclinations and living in the same geographical environment can develop different forms of life together, develop different economies and cultures. Within the framework that nature has established for humans, there are opportunities for different behavior, activities and creativity. The organization of social life is shaped and largely determined by its economic foundations, i.e. primarily a set of branches of production and labor within society.

WORK AS A FUNDAMENTAL FORM OF HUMAN ACTIVITY

An essential characteristic of the economic foundations of social life is social labor. It becomes this way because in the process of work people enter into certain relationships, interactions, and relationships. Human labor is the unification of many types of labor into a common, unified labor process, the implementation of which requires its organization. Labor organization is the distribution of individuals and groups with specific tasks and their relationships in the work environment. The organization of labor is socially determined, because it is carried out in the specific conditions of certain forms of social life.

In modern society, several types of labor organization have developed. Let us dwell on the explanation of some of them. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Taylorist labor organization became widespread. It is based on excluding workers from creative roles and limiting their activities to performance; exclusion of workers from the preparation and control of the labor process, exclusion of workers from the process of on-the-job training,

the worker does not have the opportunity to become familiar with labor technology, labor organization and enterprise management; on the exclusion of workers from the temporary regulation of the labor process (the work rhythm, norm and break are determined by the management of the enterprise), on the isolation of workers from employees - Taylorism limits contacts at work to contacts of superiors with subordinates, because contacts with other workers are considered dysfunctional; on the individualization of labor and income (individualization of work orders and pay).

Since the 60s of the twentieth century, another type of labor organization has become widespread - industrial democracy. This term refers to the democratization of relations in the management of production enterprises.

At the same time, such forms of workers’ participation in management as “participation in decision-making”, “workers’ control”, “production committees”, etc. are especially highlighted. It covers the system of bodies through which the right of workers to participate in decision-making on social, personnel and economic issues or forms of participation of worker representatives in the work of management and control bodies that make the most important decisions; includes employees to veto (prohibit) certain decisions related to the functioning of the enterprise, etc. However, it should be noted that employees participating in management are vested with only advisory functions.

Social labor has a dual nature. Sociologists view it as a process of transforming nature in order to satisfy social needs, as well as a process of reproduction of man himself.

Man, influencing nature, creates the material goods necessary to satisfy his needs. The production process consists of three main elements: 1) purposeful human activity, i.e. labor itself; 2) objects of labor that a person transforms through labor; 3) the means of labor with which a person acts on objects of labor. By changing the world around us, a person shapes himself as an individual and develops his abilities. Labor is a specific form of human self-expression and self-affirmation. Thus, labor is a conscious, universal and organized human activity, the content and nature of which are determined by the degree of development of the means of labor and the characteristics of social relations within the framework of which it is carried out.

The social essence of labor is revealed in the categories of “content of labor” and “nature of labor”. The concept of “content of labor” reveals labor in the unity of its material (object, means, product of labor) and personal aspects and expresses the specific labor activity of the worker.

The content of labor expresses the composition and distinctive features of labor functions, predetermined by the level of development of objects of labor and the functions of participants in the labor process, their level of qualifications, intellectual and other abilities; the measure of transformation of science into a direct productive force (this is expressed in the achievement of the level of mechanization and automation of labor and the place of the worker in the production process); level of labor organization, ratio of mental and physical energy costs; the presence of elements of creativity in the activity. It should be noted that routine elements of labor are present in any type of activity, even in creative work. They make up at least 50-70% of human labor activity. The remaining 30-50% (their share varies in different professions) falls on the creative elements of work associated with goal setting, choosing the optimal place of work from several alternative ones, and solving unexpected problems.

In the narrow sense of the word, the content of labor means the totality of operations performed by an employee and prescribed functions.

It should be noted that the labor process is characterized by a certain motivation of participants in labor relations. Motivation refers to the internal incentives for action in a certain individual; it is an internal factor that pushes and directs the behavior of an individual.

In connection with how the influence of motives on an individual’s activity in the work environment or in the labor process is understood, several theories of work motivation are distinguished. The need for achievement theory identifies one need - the need to achieve success. According to this theory, a person's desire to work is mainly explained by

the intensity of his need to succeed.

Representatives of the theory of justice, or social comparison, believe that the main thing in personal satisfaction in the work process lies in the degree of fairness or injustice that a person feels in his work situation. At the same time, the degree of justice is understood as the relationship between what a person puts into work (for example, effort) and what he receives in return from the enterprise (for example, payment) and a comparison of the ratio of these values ​​among other participants in the labor process. The individual analyzes what his contribution is, how it is valued, and compares this with how much others contribute and receive. Based on the conclusions from this comparison, he can reduce or increase his work activity.

Expectancy theory is based on the fact that the motive for achieving success in work is determined by the individual’s expectation of results in the future, that is, the increased value of a possible result. Proponents of the dual theory of motivation emphasize that there are two series of factors that affect labor productivity, and they are independent of one another. Achievement of results, recognition, responsibility and promotion are taken as satisfaction factors. Factors of dissatisfaction that arise from labor relations include the policy of enterprise management, forms of control by immediate managers (democratic or autocratic), working conditions, and remuneration.

According to the theory of the hierarchy of needs, individual behavior is determined by needs, which can be divided into five groups. The first (lower) group consists of needs, the satisfaction of which is the basis for maintaining life (the need for food, clothing, shelter, water, air, etc.). The second consists of the need for confidence, not only physical, but also socio-economic (job, status, authority). The third is a person’s needs to be in contact with other people (to belong to their society and be accepted by them). The fourth consists of the individual’s needs for self-esteem (a sense of self-worth), as well as the individual’s desire to be valued and respected by other members of the group. The fifth group consists of development needs, which are manifested in a person’s desire to develop, implement something new and thereby realize himself as an individual.

Theories of work motivation remain the basis for taking measures to enhance labor motivation and increase labor productivity, and on their basis certain motivational models have emerged: the traditional model, the human relations model, the human resources model. The traditional model is based on a pessimistic view of human nature and assumes that most people hate work, that what matters most to people is not what they do, but how much they get paid for it, and that only a few people can do it. creative work under self-control.

The human relations model is based on the assumption that people want to feel useful, to feel like they belong to a group, that they are accepted by the group. And this is more important to them in their motivation for work than material reward.

The human resources model is based on the premise that work itself is not distasteful to the individual and that most individuals can approach it creatively and improve themselves in their profession to a much greater extent than production conditions require of them. The human resource model does not neglect monetary motivation, but it recognizes the importance of other motivational factors.

The above motivation for work has been confirmed by specific studies by Western sociologists. They show that it is in the world of work that people most often experience a feeling of powerlessness and meaninglessness. Failure to satisfy the need for work to be interesting and provide more opportunities for independence has a negative impact on both work morale and productivity, and on the general psychological well-being and self-esteem of workers.

People value independence and the ability to make responsible decisions themselves. This is manifested in their attitudes towards society, themselves and their children. Specific working conditions are also important: more complex and independent work favors the development of more flexible thinking and an independent attitude towards oneself and society. Routine work, which limits the worker’s independence, makes his thinking more stereotypical. This leads to the formation of a conformist attitude towards oneself and society.

A person whose work activity is relatively autonomous, free from petty external supervision, better perceives and realizes the inner meaning and value of his work. On the contrary, scrupulous external control causes the employee to feel powerless, which is often transferred to the whole society, and sometimes causes neuropsychic disorders. Research indicates that the less a person has the opportunity to show initiative in work, the more inclined he is to focus on external authority in other areas of activity, and to consider the world around him as hostile and threatening.

The qualities developed in work also manifest themselves in the sphere of leisure and family life. People engaged in more complex and independent work are distinguished by greater intellectual leisure time. They also highly value independence and cultivate this in their children. There is also feedback. Complexity, flexibility and independence increase the level of individual requirements for the content and conditions of his work.

Sociological studies conducted in our country have revealed the differentiation of workers depending on the motives for participation in the labor process:

supernormative type; this group includes exclusively conscientious workers;

normative type; this category consists of fairly conscientious workers;

subnormative type; includes insufficiently conscientious employees;

non-normative type (unscrupulous workers). The number of identified typological groups, depending on their attitude to work, is distributed as follows: 5%, 60%, 30%, 5%.

The content of labor is closely related to the nature of labor. The latter reflects the socio-economic quality of social labor, the interaction of man and society, man and man in the labor process. In society, workers are assigned to economically and socially heterogeneous types of work. Belonging to a profession determines the individual’s place in the labor process. The nature of work creates differences between social groups in various spheres of life: in the cultural and technical level, participation in production management, level of material well-being, structure and ways of spending free time, etc.

The fundamentals of social life discussed above influence the functioning of society.

HISTORICAL TYPES OF ORGANIZATION OF SOCIAL LIFE

In sociology, two main approaches to the analysis of society as a special category have developed.

Proponents of the first approach (“social atomism”) believe that society is a collection of individuals and the interaction between them.

G. Simmel believed that the “interaction of parts” is what we call society. P. Sorokin came to the conclusion that “society or collective unity as a set of interacting individuals exists.

Representatives of another direction in sociology (“universalism”), as opposed to attempts to summarize individual people, believe that society is a certain objective reality that is not exhausted by the totality of its constituent individuals. E. Durkheim was of the opinion that society is not a simple sum of individuals, but a system formed by their association and representing a reality endowed with special properties. V. Soloviev emphasized that “human society is not a simple mechanical collection of individuals: it is an independent whole, has its own life and organization.”

The second point of view prevails in sociology. Society is unthinkable without the activities of people, which they carry out not in isolation, but in the process of interaction with other people united in various social communities. In the process of this interaction, people systematically influence other individuals and form a new holistic entity - society.

In the social activity of an individual, persistently repeating, typical features are manifested, which form his society as an integrity, as a system.

A system is a set of elements ordered in a certain way, interconnected and forming some kind of integral unity, which is not reducible to the sum of its elements. Society, as a social system, is a way of organizing social connections and social interaction, ensuring the satisfaction of people's basic needs.

Society as a whole is the largest system. Its most important subsystems are economic, political, social, and spiritual. In society, there are also subsystems such as classes, ethnic, demographic, territorial and professional groups, family, etc. Each of the named subsystems includes many other subsystems. They can mutually regroup; the same individuals can be elements of different systems. An individual cannot but obey the requirements of the system in which he is included. He accepts its norms and values ​​to one degree or another. At the same time, in society there are simultaneously various forms of social activity and behavior, between which a choice is possible.

In order for society to function as a single whole, each subsystem must perform specific, strictly defined functions. The functions of subsystems mean satisfying any social needs. Yet together they aim to maintain sustainability

society. Dysfunction (destructive function) of a subsystem can disrupt the stability of society. The researcher of this phenomenon, R. Merton, believed that the same subsystems can be functional in relation to some of them and dysfunctional in relation to others.

In sociology, a certain typology of societies has developed. Researchers highlight traditional society. It is a society with an agrarian structure, with sedentary structures and a tradition-based way of regulating relations between people. It is characterized by extremely low rates of production development, which could satisfy needs only at a minimum level, and great immunity to innovation, due to the peculiarities of its functioning. The behavior of individuals is strictly controlled and regulated by customs, norms, and social institutions. The listed social formations, sanctified by tradition, are considered unshakable; even the thought of their possible transformation is denied. Carrying out their integrative function, culture and social institutions suppressed any manifestation of personal freedom, which is a necessary condition for the creative process in society.

The term "industrial society" was first introduced by Saint-Simon. He emphasized the production basis of society. Important features of an industrial society are also the flexibility of social structures, allowing them to be modified as the needs and interests of people change, social mobility, and a developed communication system. This is a society in which flexible management structures have been created that make it possible to intelligently combine the freedom and interests of the individual with the general principles governing their joint activities.

In the 60s, two stages in the development of society were complemented by a third. The concept of post-industrial society appears, actively developed in American (D. Bell) and Western European (A. Touraine) sociology. The reason for the emergence of this concept is structural changes in the economy and culture of the most developed countries, forcing a different look at society itself as a whole. First of all, the role of knowledge and information has sharply increased. Having received the necessary education and having access to the latest information, the individual received an advantage in moving up the social hierarchy. Creative work becomes the basis for success and prosperity of both individuals and society.

In addition to society, which in sociology is often correlated with the boundaries of the state, other types of organization of social life are analyzed.

Marxism, choosing as its basis the method of production of material goods (the unity of the productive forces and the production relations corresponding to them), defines the corresponding socio-economic formation as the basic structure of social life. The development of social life represents a consistent transition from lower to higher socio-economic formations: from primitive communal to slaveholding, then to feudal, capitalist and communist.

The primitive-appropriating mode of production characterizes the primitive communal formation. A specific feature of the slave-owning formation is the ownership of people and the use of slave labor, feudal - production based on the exploitation of peasants attached to the land, bourgeois - the transition to the economic dependence of formally free wage workers; in the communist formation it was assumed that everyone would be treated equally to the ownership of the means of production by eliminating private property relations. Recognizing the cause-and-effect relationships between economic, political, ideological and other institutions that determine production and economic relations.

Socio-economic formations are distinguished on the basis of what is common to different countries within the same formation.

The basis of the civilized approach is the idea of ​​the uniqueness of the path traveled by peoples.

Civilization is understood as the qualitative specificity (originality of material, spiritual, social life) of a particular group of countries or peoples at a certain stage of development.

Among the many civilizations, Ancient India and China, the states of the Muslim East, Babylon, European civilization, Russian civilization, etc. stand out.

Any civilization is characterized not only by a specific social production technology, but also, to no lesser extent, by its corresponding culture. It is characterized by a certain philosophy, socially significant values, a generalized image of the world, a specific way of life with its own special life principle, the basis of which is the spirit of the people, its morality, conviction, which also determine a certain attitude towards oneself.

The civilizational approach in sociology involves taking into account and studying what is unique and original in the organization of the social life of an entire region.

Some of the most important forms and achievements developed by a particular civilization are gaining universal recognition and dissemination. Thus, the values ​​that originated in European civilization, but are now acquiring universal significance, include the following.

In the sphere of production and economic relations, this is the achieved level of development of technology and technology generated by the new stage of the scientific and technological revolution, the system of commodity and monetary relations, and the presence of a market.

In the political sphere, the general civilizational basis includes a legal state operating on the basis of democratic norms.

In the spiritual and moral sphere, the common heritage of all peoples are the great achievements of science, art, culture, as well as universal moral values.

Social life is shaped by a complex set of forces, in which natural phenomena and processes are only one of the elements. Based on the conditions created by nature, a complex interaction of individuals manifests itself, which forms a new integrity, society, as a social system. Labor, as a fundamental form of activity, underlies the development of diverse types of organization of social life.

The concept of “social life” is used in a broad and narrow sense.

In a broad sensesocial life- this is nothing more than the life of people, the life of a person among people; the life activity of the entire society, the functioning and interaction of its various spheres and aspects.

In the narrow sense(in a sociological concept) is a consideration of social life as an organized, orderly system of actions and interactions of people, social communities (groups), society as a whole through the functioning of social institutions and organizations, social norms and values, social control.

Social life is a special type of life. Its most diverse forms - from family to society - are immersed in nature, which can directly or indirectly, strongly or weakly influence them. Society is forced to reckon with nature and adapt to it.

Let us consider various aspects of the influence of nature on human life and forms of organization of social life.

The first mechanism is a mechanism of forced influence, or a fairly harsh influence of the geographical environment, manifested in several aspects:

First of all, this is the presence of the necessary minimum natural and geographical conditions necessary for successful human development. Outside the boundaries of this minimum, social life as such is impossible, or has a very definite character (small peoples of the north, who seem to have frozen at a certain stage of their development)

The coercive power of the environmental factor, which obliges society to develop rules that could prevent the occurrence of an environmental threat or contribute to its timely neutralization.

The influence of natural disasters (entire civilizations with their customs, orders and foundations perish; people are forced to leave their homes, settling in different parts of the Earth, as a result of which their customs and morals disappear; sometimes people move together to a new place and basically reproduce their previous customs and traditions).

The second mechanism is the mechanism of the formative influence of the natural-geographical environment, the mechanism of adaptation to external natural-geographical conditions through direct adaptation:

Nature of occupation, type of economic activity, type of housing, etc. - all this bears the imprints of the natural-geographical environment in which society is located (cotton growing, reindeer herding, etc.).

The influence of the environment on the spiritual and ethical life of society (specifics of architecture, painting, language, songs, dances, clothing, etc.).

The third mechanism is manifested in the promotion or hindrance of the geographical environment to effective social development (for example, soil fertility creates favorable conditions for the progress of the people, and vice versa, poor soils hinder the development of human well-being, the effectiveness of efforts is reduced; high mountains impede contacts between communities, while the plain promotes the emergence of large ethnic groups; the presence of rivers is favorable for establishing contacts with other peoples and developing trade).

With all this, we have to admit that the same geographical environment can have a different impact on people’s lives (i.e. in some cases the natural and climatic environment has a direct impact, in others it has an insignificant impact, in others it has no impact at all) . Consequently, there is a certain invisible wall, a “shell”, after passing through the filters of which the natural-geographical environment has one or another impact on social life. This “shell” becomes a sociocultural system, which includes values, norms of behavior, standards of economic activity, and the organization of socio-political life. And, apparently, the more perfect the organization of social life, the weaker the ability of the geographical factor to influence social life.

Of course, the connection between “geographical environment and society” should not be viewed one-sidedly. It is very important to determine the feedback: what people will see in a given geographical environment, what life options they will choose - all this depends on the values, traditions, and foundations that have developed in a given society.

Social reality is symbolic. At its core, it is the sphere of meanings and meanings born within human communication. And in order to grasp these meanings it is necessary to have “social vision”, which is formed by the social environment.

An important form of manifestation of social long-term, permanent, systemic, renewed, diverse in content connections are social relations.

They are relations of similarity and difference, equality and inequality, dominance and subordination between individuals and groups.

The basis of social relations are social connections that unite individuals, groups and other elements of society into a functional whole. Their core is relations of equality and inequality, since they reveal the relationships between people who are in different social positions. We are talking about the complex dialectic of equality and inequality between people within the boundaries of the social structure of society. Since relations of absolute equality are impossible, relations of social inequality act as leading ones.

The nature of social inequality in the system of social relations is determined by:

Differences between people are inherent in nature, inherent in them from birth: ethnicity, gender and age characteristics, physical capabilities, intellectual abilities;

Differences between people that arise in connection with professional roles;

Differences between people that are caused by possession (property, goods, privileges, etc.).

Relations of inequality in certain situations turn into relations of social equality (when it comes to fair incentives for work of equal value).

There are various types of social relations:

By the scope of power: horizontal relations, vertical relations;

According to the degree of regulation: formal (officially issued), informal;

According to the way individuals communicate: impersonal or indirect, interpersonal or direct;

By subjects of activity: inter-organizational, intra-organizational;

According to the level of justice: fair, unfair.

The basis of the differences between social relations are motives and needs, the main of which are the primary and secondary needs (power, respect) of each person.

Specifics of social relations is that:

These relationships are conscious;

They are associated with the action in society of highly developed sign systems (language, facial expressions, gestures, postures), with the system of etiquette norms and rules created in society.

Awareness of social relations is associated with the presence in a person of highly organized matter (brain), which is capable of reflecting objective reality and, on this basis, forming a subjective mental image that regulates human behavior and activity. For inanimate matter, reflection is possible only at the physical and chemical level. An essential feature of a person is the presence of intelligence, i.e. the ability not only to reflect objects, but also the connections between them, as well as to abstract from specific phenomena of reality.

The development of the animal psyche is determined by purely biological laws, and human consciousness is determined by the course of socio-historical development.

Most of the knowledge, skills and techniques of human behavior are not so much the result of personal experience (as in animals), but are formed through the assimilation of universal human experience in learning through the highest form of human communication - human speech.

Human speech is also a product of socio-historical development, which is associated with the formation of an articulatory apparatus adapted to the pronunciation of articulate sounds, the complexes of which are endowed with a certain meaning and form a symbolic-sign system - language.

Language is a unique social phenomenon. If the language of animals has no boundaries, then the language created by people of one social system may not be understandable to representatives of another social system (French, Chinese, Ukrainian, etc.).

Gestures and facial expressions are also quite complex sign systems of human communication, which not only allow representatives of the same sociocultural space to better understand each other, but also make it difficult for representatives of different cultures to communicate.

Thanks to the norms and rules of behavior formed in society, people have the opportunity to predict each other’s behavior in a given situation and behave in accordance with social expectations. In essence, these are certain rules of the game in society, which represent a kind of agreement, mutual obligations shared by everyone, in accordance with which people build their lives.

The generic prerequisite for social relations is social action. Analysis of the system of social actions leads to an understanding of the essence of social relations.

Under social action is understood meaningful individual behavior of a person, correlated with the behavior of another person and oriented towards him. The theory of social action was developed by M. Weber, K. Marx, T. Parsons, R. Merton, G. Becker and others.

M. Weber called social actions only those behavioral acts that are more or less intentional in nature, are motivated, i.e. carried out in the name of a specific goal, associated with analysis, selection of certain means that contribute to achieving the goal in a given situation, under given conditions.

Consequently, social action must meet the following conditions: intentionality, motivation, focus on another (others).

Social action is the most elementary node of social reality. But it is obvious to everyone that social life is interaction, integration of people.

Subjects enter into a social connection because depend on each other in the process of satisfying various needs, realizing life goals and attitudes.

Social connection- social action that expresses the dependence and compatibility of people or groups through mutually directed social actions, i.e. mutual conscious actions with mutual orientations towards each other, with the expectation of an appropriate response from the partner.

The main elements of a social connection, regardless of its form, are:

subjects of communication (they can be any number of people);

subject of communication (i.e. about what communication is being made);

mechanism of conscious regulation of relationships between subjects).

A social connection can take the form of either social contact or social interaction.

Social contact– this is a single act (contact with passengers in transport, passers-by on the street, cloakroom attendant in the theater, etc.)

Social interaction– systematic, fairly regular social actions of partners, aimed at each other, with the goal of causing a very specific (expected) reaction on the part of the partner; and the response generates a new reaction on the part of the partner.

It is the conjugacy of the systems of actions of both partners in relation to each other, the renewability (and not only of actions, but also their coordination), a stable interest in the reciprocal actions of one’s partner that distinguish social interaction from a social act and make it the main subject of sociological analysis.

Social interaction is always based on exchange, which manifests itself in contractual and diffuse forms.

Contract forms most clearly manifested in the economic sphere; social exchange here takes the form of a transaction in which the volume of services, the timing of their reimbursement, cost, etc. are strictly specified.

Contractual forms in the political sphere are widely developed (agreements between states, parties, agreements between politicians on coordination of activities, etc.).

Diffuseness (non-rigidity) in its pure form manifests itself in exchanges that have moral and ethical content: friendship, neighborhood, relationships between parents and children, partnership.

No matter how rigid the contractual forms of social exchange may be, they are based on such non-rigid matters as expectation, trust, etc. The bulk of exchanges between people in society are carried out on credit, on the basis of risk, on the expectation of reciprocity, on the basis of trust.

Exchange is carried out at the level of both individuals and social groups and communities.

Social interactions are built on the basis of certain principles: personal expediency, mutual effectiveness of interactions, the principle of a single criterion, social differentiation, the principle of balance in the system of social interactions.

The main types of social interactions are cooperation and competition.

Cooperation manifests itself in many specific relationships between people: business partnership, friendship, solidarity, political alliance between parties, states, cooperation between firms, etc. Distinctive features of cooperation type interactions: mutual interest, benefit of interaction for both parties, the presence of a common goal, respect, support , gratitude, loyalty.

Rivalry as a type of interaction presupposes the presence of a single indivisible object of claims of both parties (voters, authority, territory, power rights, etc.). The basis of rivalry is: the desire to get ahead, remove, subjugate or destroy a rival, the absence of common goals, but the obligatory presence of similar goals, hostility, bitterness, insincerity, secrecy.

Rivalry can take the form of competition and conflict.

Thus, social relations arise in connection with the realization of needs and interests, the achievement of certain vital goals by individuals or their groups.

The imperatives of social relations are: social needs - social interests - social goals of individuals, manifested in their activities in all spheres of life without exception.

100 RUR bonus for first order

Select the type of work Diploma work Course work Abstract Master's thesis Practice report Article Report Review Test work Monograph Problem solving Business plan Answers to questions Creative work Essay Drawing Essays Translation Presentations Typing Other Increasing the uniqueness of the text Master's thesis Laboratory work On-line help

Find out the price

Social life can be represented as a process of purposeful preservation, reproduction and development of individuals and communities. Its occurrence presupposes the presence of subjects, their setting of appropriate goals, the search and application of methods and means adequate to them, the necessary prerequisites and conditions, the activity of relationships, obtaining planned results, their assessment based on special criteria and correlation with goals. The specificity of the criteria is one of the arguments to prove a certain autonomy of social life in relation to political, economic, spiritual and ideological life. If previously the degree of maturity of a society was judged by economic indicators, now such a criterion is increasingly taken to be a “person-based” approach.

Recently, indices have been developed that are not reflected in GDP indicators or are distorted by them. The most famous is the Human Development Index (HDI), proposed by UN experts. HDI is an integral indicator that includes three basic components: 1) life expectancy, 2) adult literacy and the total share of students in primary, secondary and higher educational institutions, 3) real per capita income based on purchasing power. “International comparisons based on this index have revealed the absence of a strict correlation between indicators of social (human) development and economic growth. In some cases, a country's rank in terms of HDI is higher - and sometimes significantly - than its rank in terms of GDP per capita; in others, the picture is the opposite.

The HDI, firstly, reflects the level of development of spheres of society in their relationship to each other. Secondly, it is a criterion for both the preservation of individuals (real income and life expectancy) and their development (literacy, education). Thirdly, the increase in HDI is the result not so much of spontaneous inertial development, but of conscious, purposeful efforts of individuals, society and its various institutions.

The HDI is linked to the criteria of social stratification of modern society. If earlier social stratification was determined by an economic criterion - the attitude to the means of production, now the amount of income, the level and quality of education, the prestige of professional occupations, the degree of entry into power structures, etc. act as differentiating characteristics along with it. We are talking about the transition from economic man to social man, a subject of self-sufficient activity and the relationships corresponding to it. This shows the advantages of those social systems in which the proportion of middle strata, which most fully represent the subjects of social life, is large.

Social life does not receive theoretical expression adequate to its role in society. As a rule, it is interpreted narrowly and comes down to either the functioning of individual spheres or state assistance to children, disabled people, pensioners, etc. In both cases, the bulk of the population falls out of its orbit. In addition, the main attention is paid to the preservation of individuals and communities, while the process of their development remains in the shadows. However, one cannot judge the whole by one component. A fragmented approach to the social life of society does not allow us to reveal its essence, content, various forms of manifestation and development trends.

Sociology is experiencing a crisis; compared to other sciences, it has turned out to be an outsider. In content, sociology is fragmented into countless theories, between which it is difficult to see the connection. There is a gap between the abundance of empirical material and its theoretical generalization. It cannot boast of major achievements, the effectiveness of performing epistemological, methodological and social functions, or the effectiveness of interaction with other branches of knowledge. In many ways, this state of sociology is due to the fact that its subject has not been sufficiently disclosed, since the latter is a system-forming factor in relation to the content of science. If it is not defined deeply and completely enough, it is impossible to imagine science as a system and to identify its integrative properties and functions. The idea of ​​methodological trauma was put forward, which is understood as a situation of confusion among researchers in front of the abundance of sociological theories, methodologies, and methods in the decision-making process on the choice of means of cognitive activity. We can probably talk about the substantive trauma of sociologists, especially teachers, who, finding themselves in conditions of atomization, excessive differentiation and fragmentation of sociological knowledge, clearly feel the difficulty of its holistic comprehension and therefore “go away” into locality - into the absolutization of some theories and the ignoring of other theories.

When it comes to presenting sociology as a system, this does not mean “squeezing” all the diverse knowledge into one. The point is different - overcoming the inconsistency of different theories, in identifying their proportionality and commensurability as components of one science, in revealing its unity, manifested in the diversity of elements, in highlighting their connections in interactions.

The desire to clarify the subject of sociology is due to the need to present this science as a system that produces specific knowledge. Only thanks to the latter, sociology can fully perform economic and social functions. It seems that from these positions it is necessary to approach the search for the subject of sociology, undertaken recently by a number of theorists. One of the concepts according to which sociology turns into the sociology of life. The basic concepts of which are “consciousness” and “behavior”, etc.

The approach to social life as a subject of sociology is confirmed by the process of emergence and development of this science. Awareness of the specifics of social life was difficult and contradictory. Naturalism, evolutionism and phenomenology were its characteristic features at that time. At the same time, O. Comte, having separated “logos from myths,” raised the question of the need to create a science that would study the statics and dynamics of society, would provide “positive” knowledge, contributing to the establishment of order and progress in it. Many subsequent sociologists also saw the main task in weakening and relieving social tension in society, minimizing conflicts, and establishing harmony and solidarity between people. The subsequent empirical research seemed to distance sociology from this issue. However, they were essentially devoted to the study of phenomena and processes (various forms of social manifestations: crime, conflicts, risks, etc.) that limit and deform the social life of people and pose a danger to their existence. The progress of mankind turns into a mass of social pathologies that “feed” the negative branch of sociology. However, the latter, it seems, should be considered in line with the positive direction of this science as a theory of social life, including the study of not only the processes of preservation and reproduction, but also the development of individuals and communities.

Let us take a closer look at social life as a subject of sociology, highlighting the three most significant, in our opinion, aspects: subjects, processes of interaction between them, main goals and orientations.

The subjects of social life are different entities: individuals, groups and communities, individual societies and the world community. It seems unlawful to focus attention on some and exclude others from social life and, therefore, from the orbit of sociological vision. Meanwhile, this approach takes place when determining the status of sociology. Of course, the degree of people's involvement in social life is not the same, which is reflected in the social structure and stratification of society. Some eke out a miserable existence below the poverty line, others are busy struggling for survival, the life strategy of others is aimed at development, etc. The differentiation of individuals and communities is also characteristic of other forms of life, where there also exists a core and a periphery, active layers.

The sociological approach to individuals and communities as integral entities is logically transformed into an analysis of them as subjects of activity, ultimately oriented towards their own preservation and development. This idea is expressed in various forms by many authors. In this regard, in Marxism, the analysis of the objective position of the proletariat as a class is brought to the justification of the activities that it was forced to conduct for the sake of survival. It is no coincidence that K. Marx’s position about “class in itself” and “class for itself” is reproduced in modern literature. The transformation of a community from the first state to the second is carried out through its activities.

There are three important points to note. Firstly, the specificity of sociology is not simply that it pays attention to the activities of individuals and communities, but in the study of its social content, which is a manifestation of their activity as social units. In this regard, it should be noted: M. Verber’s typology is social in nature, because it is directly related to the state of the individual as a social being. The dominance of various elements in an individual’s structure also determines the corresponding type of action. Naturally, the increasing diversity and complexity of technical forms of activity cannot but affect their social content.

Secondly, sociology is interested in activity as one of the forms of social interaction, organically connected with its other types: relationships, communication and behavior. In modern society it is increasingly dominant relative to other forms. However, in order to reveal the social life of society, it is important to take into account the entire set of types of interaction, bearing in mind, first of all, their social content. Thirdly, an essential feature of social life is the connection between all forms of interaction of social units with the process of their preservation, reproduction and development. Abstraction from this circumstance means the elimination of any criteria for interaction processes, which in practice turns into arbitrariness, permissiveness, leading to the degradation of both individuals and society. The history of sociology is nothing more than the development of various theories that reveal the boundaries of the possible and impossible, norms, permissible and impermissible, which is reflected in the concepts of conflictology, risk theory, etc.

Coming to the forefront of social life means a qualitatively new level of development of society compared to those states when politics and economics play the main role. In the latter cases, the process of purposeful preservation and development of individuals covers only a minority. With leadership in social life, it extends to the majority of the population, which places new demands on different spheres and institutions.

A holistic vision of social life allows us to better understand the diversity and unity of the world, the past and the present. It highlights various aspects of today's society and helps bring it out of a state of uncertainty.

(1798-1857) in his work “A Course in Positive Philosophy” (1842). Adapting this concept to the Russian language, one of the outstanding founders of world sociology, our compatriot Pitirim Sorokin, noted that sociology is “the word about society.” The entire totality of people living together, their mutual relationships, he emphasized, is society or social life, which is studied by sociology. In other words, sociology is a science that studies human relations in all forms of their manifestation.

The basis of these relationships is not the momentary impulses and moods of people (although sociologists also pay due attention to their study), but the fundamental needs of life itself and, above all, the need to achieve a reasonable (scientific) organization of any form of social activity - politics, trade, business, management, economics, culture, education, science - everything where both individual individuals and their various associations act in pursuit of their goals. Hence, sociologists are qualified teams of people who unite to comprehensively solve specific social problems. Each individual specialist, for example a psychologist, lawyer or manager, can, if necessary, quite effectively identify the weak or strong sides of his “technological chain” of social relations. However, the development of the entire space under study (workshop, plant, industry, region, country, nation, civilization), taking into account the totality of social factors operating in this space - developing, hindering or destroying - can only be achieved with the help of a specialist with sociologically developed thinking. In this sense, sociology promotes a deep understanding of the social essence and meaning of human activity, which, undoubtedly, cannot but affect its effectiveness and quality.

Object of sociology

The object of sociological knowledge is society. But isolating the concept of “society” as a starting point for defining the subject of sociology is not enough. Society can be the object of all social and human sciences. The same can be said about the concept of “social reality”. The key to justifying the scientific status of sociology, as well as any other science, lies in the difference between its object and its subject.

The object of knowledge is everything that the researcher’s activity is aimed at. Any phenomenon, process or relation of objective reality can be the object of study of a wide variety of sciences. When it comes to the subject of research of a given specific science, then this or that part of objective reality (society, culture, man) is not studied in its entirety, but only from that aspect that is determined by the specifics of this science. Other aspects of a specific part of objective reality in this case are considered as secondary or as a condition for the existence of a given object (for example, the social context of the economy).

Often in scientific literature there is a confusion or identification of the concepts of “object” and “subject” of science. This confusion or identification of two concepts that are in semantic proximity could be ignored if it did not have a significant impact on the blurring of the boundaries of science.

An object is a separate part or a set of elements of objective reality that has a certain or specific property. At the same time, each science differs from another science in its subject. Physics and chemistry, biology and psychology, economics and sociology, etc. have their own subjects. All these sciences generally study objective reality, characterized by an infinite variety of phenomena and processes. However, each of them studies, firstly, a special side or sphere of objective reality; secondly, laws and patterns of development of this reality that are specific only to this science; thirdly, the special form of manifestation and mechanisms of action of these laws and patterns. Moreover, the same sphere of objective reality can be the object of study by many sciences. Thus, physical reality is the object of study of many natural and technical sciences, social reality is the object of study of social sciences and the humanities. Determining the specifics of science only by the object of research is not enough. There can be an infinite number of objects of research in any science, but its subject is always unambiguous, limited and specific.

The difference between various sciences from each other lies in the fact that even on the same object they study their specific laws and patterns, which govern the development and functioning of a given object. Thus, the development and functioning of society is determined by the requirements of economic, social, demographic, psychological and other laws and patterns that are the subject of the relevant sciences. In this regard, parts of this objective reality can be the object of study of various sciences. For example, work, everyday life, education, family, city, village, etc. are objects of research in economics, sociology, psychology, and demography.

The laws and regularities of any science can be traced in specific phenomena and processes of objective reality included in the mechanism of their action. Thus, biological laws and patterns are manifested in the diverse forms of living organisms, their structure, functions, evolution, individual development and relationship with the environment; social laws and patterns - in historically certain types of society or its individual systems, acting as results and as a condition for the social activity of people.

The subject of science cannot be identical to the object (or objects) that it studies. The object of science is a given reality that represents one or another fragment of the objective world. The subject of science is the reproduction of such reality on an abstract level by identifying the most significant, from a scientific and practical point of view, the logical connections and relationships of this reality. The subject of any science is not just a certain phenomenon or process of the objective world, but the result of theoretical abstraction, which makes it possible to highlight certain patterns of development of the object being studied, specific to this science. This kind of abstraction (building a model of the object being studied) precisely determines that “part”, “sphere”, “side”, “aspect” of social reality to which the sociologist’s activity is directed.

Definition of the subject of sociology

One of the most important reasons that determined the rather late spin-off of sociology from other sciences - from philosophy (France), political economy (Germany), social psychology (USA), criminology (Great Britain) - and its emergence as an independent scientific discipline, lies in the uncertainty of the subject sociological knowledge.

Usually, according to established tradition, when defining the subject of sociological knowledge, one or another social phenomenon is singled out as “key”. Such phenomena include: group interactions, social relationships, social organizations, systems of social action, social groups, forms of human communities, social processes, social life.

The International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences defines the subject of sociology as “the study of social aggregates and groups in their institutional organization, institutions and their organizations, and the causes and consequences of changes in institutions and social organization.” Webster's Dictionary defines sociology as the study of the history, development, organization, and problems of living together among people as representatives of social groups.

Some authors (R. Feris) believe that the starting concept of modern sociology is the concept of “social structure”, and the main content of the category “social” is the dichotomy “equality-inequality”. It is with the analysis of the “foundations of inequality in society” that the presentation of the theory and structure of sociological knowledge begins.

One can cite a number of similar definitions of the subject of sociology. A comparative analysis of these definitions will give a certain idea of ​​what acts as the main objects of sociological knowledge. But sociologists have not yet come to a consensus about the subject of their science.

When isolating the social sphere of society's life, it is completely insufficient to point out the objects that are subject to sociological study, since there are no objects in society that sociology does not study. The same can be said about economics, demography and other social and human sciences. Consequently, when we are talking about the specific features of a particular science, from the most diverse objects of the surrounding reality, those connections and relationships must be isolated that are qualitatively different from other connections and relationships and which thereby become the subject of this particular science.

The defining property of an object is that it represents the entire set of connections and relationships that are called social. The goal of sociology is to study these connections and relationships at the level of patterns, to obtain specific scientific knowledge about the mechanisms of action and forms of manifestation of these patterns in various social systems. So, the concepts of social, social connections and relationships, the method of their organization are the starting points for understanding the distinctive features of the subject of sociological knowledge, and social patterns for understanding its essence.

Concept of social

To better understand the content of the concept “social” and its difference from the concept “public”, let’s take a short historical excursion. In the works of K. Marx and F. Engels, when analyzing society, its processes and relations, two concepts are used - “social” (Gesel/ schaftlich) and "social" ( soziale). Marx and Engels used the concepts of “social” and “social relations” when talking about society as a whole, about the interaction of its parties - economic, political, ideological. When it came to the nature of the relations of people to each other, person to person, about their relationship to the factors and conditions of their life, to their own position and role in society and to society as a whole, Marx and Engels used the concept of “social” and accordingly they spoke of “social relations.”

In the works of Marx and Engels, the concept of “social” was often identified with the concept of “civil”. The latter was associated with the interaction of people within specific social communities (family, class, etc.) and society as a whole.

Since, when developing the theory of society, Marx and Engels paid main attention to the interaction of all aspects of its life activity - social relations, some Marxist scientists began to identify the concepts of “public” and “social”; The concept of “civil society” gradually disappeared from scientific circulation.

A different situation has developed in the countries of Western Europe and the USA, where empirical sociology has received significant development. As a result, in French and English the concept of “social”, being derived from the concept of society (society) , has traditionally been used in a narrow (empirical) meaning, which caused certain difficulties in designating phenomena and processes related to society as a whole. That is why at a certain stage of the development of sociology the concept of “societal” was introduced ( social), used to characterize society as a whole, the entire system of social relations (economic, socio-political, etc.).

In Russian science, the lack of a clear distinction between the concepts of “public” and “social” was to a certain extent due to certain established linguistic traditions. In Russian, the concepts “public” and “civil” were usually used. At the same time, the concept of “social” was considered as a synonym for the concept of “public”, and the concept of “civil” related to legal science. Gradually, with the development of sociology, the concept of “social” acquired an independent meaning.

Social- this is a set of social relations of a given society, integrated in the process of joint activity (interaction) by individuals or groups of individuals in specific conditions of place and time.

Any system of social relations (economic, political, etc.) is connected with the attitude of people to each other and to society. Therefore, each of these systems always has its own clearly defined social aspect.

The social is the result of the joint activity of various individuals, manifested in their communication and interaction.

The social arises in the course of interaction between people and is determined by the differences in their place and role in specific social structures, which is manifested, in turn, in the different attitudes of individuals and groups of individuals to the phenomena and processes of social life.